You might
only occasionally have trouble finding the right word in English but what if
your native language was Portuguese or Chinese? Reverso.net’s free translation Web
site can put the right word in the right place with a quick and thorough online
word translator. It also works with French, Spanish, German, Italian and
Russian. Just type in the word or short phrase you need translated and the site
returns a series of choices in order of popularity along with a good quickie
definition. The site is paid for with advertising, works just as well with a PC
as an iPad and the ads are unobtrusive.

Most
calculators for early learners are like a lot of us because they aren’t
particularly good at handling fractions, but Casio’s fx-55 has the company’s
Natural Textbook Display, which allows it to show a variety of math functions.
On top of working with a variety of functions, kids can punch in and manipulate
mixed fractions. It can also handle division with remainders as well as come up
with random numbers. The fx-55 is brightly colored, has big buttons and can run on solar power. It costs
just $13.

Whether it’s
a bake sale or a car wash, every school raises money for extracurricular
activities and to fill in budget shortfalls. Few, however, depart from the
established methods, but Rally.org has a new money-making idea. Supporters can
be notified for the fundraising drive via email and a variety of social media
networks. The organization sets up a fundraising Web page for consolidating
donations in a matter of minutes. It not only shows what’s been collected but
the drive’s goal and what it will be used for.

Imagine
a monitor that could double as a Web machine, able to do everything from online
searches to email. HP’s Passport 1912nm can do all that and at $260 it is one
of the best bargains today for schools.

The
Passport is modestly sized at 10.8- by 17.5 by 2.1-inches but comes with a
stand that raises the screen by about 7-inches. The whole thing weighs 8 pounds
and the stand lets you tilt the display forward by 15- or backwards by
5-degrees. On the downside the screen can’t be adjusted up and down to
accommodate different sized students and teachers, but it has the mounting
screws for attaching it to a wall bracket.

From
the bezel to the stand, everything about Passport is black, with the exception
of a lone LED light that shows its asleep (amber) or operating (blue). At the
center of attention is the 18.5-inch display that can show 1,366 by 768
resolution, but uses older fluorescent backlighting, not the latest LED
illumination. In other words, as a monitor it doesn’t distinguish itself.

Passport,
however, comes into its own as an Internet kiosk. Inside is a 1GHz Texas
Instruments dual-core OMAP 4430 processor that uses ARM’s capable Cortex A-9
technology. There’s 2GB of flash storage, 1GB of memory chips and it connects
with the outside world via 5 USB ports and a flash card reader that can work
with SD, MMC, MS and xD cards. While it has built-in wired networking, it lacks
WiFi wireless networking, which can limit where it is deployed to areas that
have LAN support.

The
Web screen comes with a basic keyboard and mouse as well as integrated 2-watt
stereo speakers that sound remarkably rich and bright. Unfortunately, the
volume adjustment buttons are awkwardly under an annoying lip under the screen,
making them tough to use; there’s no mute button.

Setting
up Passport is like a dream come true. All you need to do is connect it to an
Ethernet port and plug in its power cord. Finally, turn it on and fill in the
language, time zone and password you want to use. That’s it, you’re set. From
sealed box to operating Web machine, it took all of three minutes and doesn’t
require any special skills.

Based
on a customized version of Ubuntu’s Linux software, Passport is a
self-contained system with nothing to attach and no software to load. It is
minimalist to say the least with large icons for music, video Web browsing and
photos on its home page. There’s no file browser, multi-tasking and you can’t
add software to it, which will likely elicit a huge sigh of relief among IT
administrators tasked with keeping public-access computers working.

There’s
also a password-protected Settings section for doing basic maintenance,
including setting the time and whether you want to set up the system’s
networking manually or automatically. On the downside, it can’t grab anything
from a network drive.

It
worked well with CNN, BBC and NASA Web sites, played YouTube videos and could
handle creating documents with Google Docs and Office 365. While it worked with
most everything we threw at it, the included FireFox 4.0 browser was slow to
load sites, taking 2.1 seconds longer than a Windows 7 notebook to load the
same site using Chrome’s browser.

The
system automatically updates its software as needed and HP engineers think it
is impervious to virus attack because its storage is protected. Only time will
tell. It, however, draws the line when it comes to loading specialized
software. For example, it balked at working with the University of Colorado’s
PHET science and math simulations, which requires the loading of Java
apps.

It
also can only do one thing at a time, which limits its usefulness. Things like
listening to a podcast while looking over a Web site, something that even the
cheapest netbook can do, is off limits.

Passport
can fit right into a school’s library, computer lab and faculty lounge, but is
a winner as a public online kiosk in common spaces. It excels as a public
terminal for kids and adults to catch up on email, grab assignments and watch
an online video or two. The system can also print using HP’s ePrint protocol,
but only with HP printers and lacks a Web cam and a video conferencing app.

All
told, it uses just 21 watts when it’s on and 4.3-watts while in standby, which
adds up to an annual power bill of just $7.50 if it’s used for 8 hours a day
during the school year and electricity costs the national average of 12 cents
per kilowatt-hour. That’s a lot less than recycling an old PC and CRT monitor
for this task and there will be fewer set up and maintenance hassles. It comes
with a 3-year warranty.

While
it’s not perfect, Passport 1912nm is the ideal computer for such a wide variety
of school uses it’s a wonder that nobody thought of this sooner.

One thing
about whiteboards is that they rarely stay white, what with scratches and areas
that are worn through. In addition to selling a variety of full boards,
EverWhite also sells the panels on their own for installation right over the
existing board. They’re available in sizes up to 48- by 144-inches and the
material comes with an adhesive on the back for a quick installation.

The report card may be an endangered species because
Parchment’s Docufide can be quickly and efficiently sent to parents and
colleges. It’s currently used in 30 percent of high schools in the U.S. and
more than 1.6-million transcripts were sent out last year.

LeapFrog has
done it again by redefining the established handheld gaming console for small
children and adding an educational bent to it. The LeapsterGS is more than a
1.7-pound rugged handheld, because it has a built-in camera, 2GB of
storage and an accelerometer motion sensor. It can use existing Leapfrog
Explorer game cartridges that run the gamut from ebooks, math and science to
adventure and problem-solving. The device costs $70 and uses 4 AA batteries.

It’s unlikely that there will be more than a few dozen kids that can vote in this fall’s presidential election at your high school, but it is an import history and civics lesson for everyone. Mimio has a great election lesson plan to help get is to election day and beyond with a K-8 social studies curriculum that includes a citizens rights and responsibilities, what a democracy is and how we need to participate in our government. Just register and it’s free.

Chances are that if you’ve set up classrooms with iPads that you can cut
out the cost of buying some of the reading material traditionally done with
books. Lexcycle’s Stanza works with pads, iPhones and many iPods to deliver a
variety of free classics from tis library of 50,000 books. It provides access
to catalogue of Project Guttenberg and Feedbooks as well as other sources.

With so many
Android tablets with single- and dual-core processors, Fujitsu goes against the
grain with a high performance tablet. Powered by Nvidia’s 1.4GHz quad-core
chip, the Stylistic M532 uses the latest Android 4.0 software and comes with
1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. Its 10.1-inch screen can show 1,280 by
800 resolution images and the slate can run for more than 8 hours of continuous
use, making it great for a full school day of use. The tablet weighs 1.2 pounds
and sells for $550.